1) Clutch of crackers

What a great weekend for the Super League. It was no great surprise that Warrington and Wigan served up such a classic on Monday night, although Wigan's ability to compete so strongly despite the absence of so many key players spoke volumes yet again for the depth of talent at the club and in the town. But Castleford's 30-28 win against Hull in the Friday night televised match was just as exciting.

Hull KR had an equally thrilling, and unpredictable, triumph against Catalan Dragons in Toulouse, and the impressive 14,858 gate at the Stade Ernest Wallon boosted the aggregate attendance to 62,268 on a weekend when four of the biggest crowd-pullers – Wigan, Leeds, Hull and St Helens – were playing away. It would also seem to have strengthened the case for Toulouse as the base for a second French Super League club under the revised structure that will be introduced from 2015.

2) Giant strides

Huddersfield claimed their third win of the season against Leeds to consolidate their position in the top three. If the coach of the year award is determined by exceeding pre-season expectations, then surely Paul Anderson is a shoo-in. A quick word, too, for Ken Davy, whose huge but low-profile financial investment has allowed the Giants to establish themselves among the elite. Could this finally be the year when they win a major trophy – which would be their first since claret and gold ribbons adorned the Championship in the spring of 1962?

3) Boys of summer

Talking of end-of-season gongs, Eddie Hemmings nominated Ben Crooks as a strong contender for the young player of the year award in commentary at the Cas-Hull game – well before the rangy 20-year-old centre had completed his first four-try haul with his dad, Lee, watching from the open terrace at the railway end of Wheldon Road.

By all accounts Crooks has had a terrific season, although the way he was exposed defensively by Rangi Chase in the second half put a realistic context on some of the premature demands for Crooks to be included in the England squad. Tom Lineham, his strapping wing partner who was such a bonus find for Hull last season, must also be in the running, and Warrington's ball-playing back-row Ben Currie came of age with the key role he played in their win against Wigan.

Kieran Dixon is worth a shout for the quantity and quality of tries the young Londoner has scored for the Broncos this season, and Morgan Escare has made a major impact for Catalans since being handed a chance in the full-back shirt. Any other nominations?

4) Must do better

So much for the good news. This is rugby league, so all silver linings must be accompanied by at least one black cloud. The dislocated hip suffered by Gareth Widdop in Melbourne's win against the Gold Coast on Monday seems likely to put a major dent in England's World Cup plans. Then there is the continued player drain to join Widdop in the National Rugby League, with confirmation expected shortly that Super League will be losing its brightest star of all, Sam Tomkins, to New Zealand Warriors.

The aforementioned Hemmings, who is often criticised for acting as a propagandist rather than a commentator, made no effort to talk down what a major blow this would be to the national and international credibility of Super League. Surely this should be one of the major factors in the plans to restructure the game – to produce a more intense, streamlined, glamorous and lucrative competition whose clubs would have a better chance of retaining British league's top talent, and of recruiting stars from elsewhere.

Does anyone seriously believe the latest proposals emanating from the Rugby Football League, and driven by the Super League clubs, do that, by extending the league season to 30 fixtures? Back to the drawing board, chaps. If you really want to make a difference, and give league a chance of the necessary relaunch, you're going to need something a good deal more radical – and radical doesn't mean complicated – than that.

5) New faces and old friends

It's an abbreviated set this week for logistical reasons, so tackle five will bring together Apollo Perelini and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. Perelini, the former St Helens and Samoa prop, is now based in Dubai, and was therefore a natural target for Ben Bolger, the former London Broncos forward, in his attempts to establish league in the United Arab Emirates. He's agreed to coach a junior representative side for a fixture against Lebanon in September.

Grey-Thompson has agreed to be the guest of honour at the Wheelchair World Cup final in Medway on Saturday 13 July – one of the five "other" league World Cups being played in England this summer before the main event in the autumn. Everything has gone pretty quiet on the latter front, although I'm told that ticket sales continue to tick along nicely. The Festival action starts this Sunday, with the first two fixtures in the Armed Forces competition at the Colchester Garrison – Great Britain face New Zealand, and Australia take on the newcomers from Serbia.

The Wheelchair World Cup begins next Wednesday in Kent, then the focus switches to more familiar rugby league territory in Yorkshire for the start of the student competition on Thursday. The women's and police competitions begin with an intriguing triple header in Dewsbury on Friday 5 July, when the police opener between Great Britain and Australia (kick-off 8pm) could see PC Sean Long (not that one) taking on the real Scott Donald and Robbie Mears.

6) Origin has everything covered

Finally this week, just for Wednesday's second State of Origin clash in Sydney, a piece of merchandise that really does take the breath away.